What a horror story! It turned out ok, but you had no reason to assume that at the time, I can well understand the anger and frustration you experienced, it was surely enough to drive any responsible person mad.

Hi friends,I to have to wonder about the crews in the forest, and what / who is being allowed by State park & / or SBNF.Many peaceful mornings I walked down from the tram at 8:15am, only to be greeted by some type of "rock crusher", I think, grinding away, (sounding like a chain saw running out of gas, which there are now many as well up there).

Re. impact, couldn't a real mule crew be hired in place of at least 6 mech. mules, trudging threw the forest from the tram to Tamarack / Round, with accompanying exhaust, pivoting wide-track tread & noise. These have needed their own trail, as they cannot, (unlike real mules), negotiate big rocks & roots. I do enjoy the smell of mt. air cooked breakfast from the big ol mess-tents. I've also found a few bottled / trash in areas where they work, but can't say it's from them.I realize this can be hard, physical work, with no road access, but it needs monitoring. Wouldn't want a trampling of the little blue curl & frogs whilst building the railing & kiosks at Hidden lake, (which I hear may open soon?).

There may be a few less forest wreckers up in the general area of 4-5k ft. around pct, (think below the now dwa, former boys school), as I think I saw a helo pulling out a big bundle of "green" a couple weeks back.

Hi ss! Way back when, when I was a solo hiker, BE (before Ellen), I was hiking the Deer Springs Trail and came upon a small boulder that had been so recently "blown away" with TNT that the finely broken up rock on the trail didn't even have pine needles on it yet. When I got to Deer Springs I met the CCC crew for my first time. They said that yes, they blew the rock up so it would be easier for the horses and mules to pass through because previously the boulders made the trail "too narrow."

Soon after that, I hiked to the peak via Fuller Ridge trail. As I neared the Deer Springs Junction I heard what sounded like someone trying to start up a chain saw. Then I heard what sounded like a jack-hammer. I thought I was having auditory hallucinations! I rounded a bend, and, lo and behold there was a guy with a jack-hammer! I put 2 & 2 together, that's why they needed to widen the trail for mules!

I think that this is about when I joined the forum back in 2009. I think I remember writing a trip report about it. So these guys have been pulverizing rocks for 8 years! When I asked them if they were going to trim the brush back on Deer Springs Trail above Fuller Ridge junction they said that they were only working on the PCT.

Sorry guys but I just have to comment on this thread. It started off as a well-meaning alert of an illegal back country campfire that could have gotten out of control, but rapidly descended into a complete bagging on the CCC. I just ran the trail past the camp this morning and it's still active...there are many tents still set-up. Do you really think that they would leave an active fire unattended, with all their experience, c'mon people!!?? Thank goodness Ellen tried to reign things in by stating we shouldn't rush to judgement of the CCC but it seems like some people still didn't get her message.What do you guys want? Well-maintained trails or the opposite...you can't have it both ways my friends! If you do want maintenance then it comes with a "price". That price is establishing a semi-permanent camp in the wilderness where the CC can conduct their operations without a 6-8 mile hike-in just to get to work everyday. Tent platforms, a convenient and reliable water supply, cooking and storage facilities are all required. If you guys and gals ever travel outside of SoCal you would see these backcountry work camps elsewhere....when you really think about the footprint of these camps in the BIG scheme of things it's not very big at all.....and, we get required re-routes on unsustainable trails and some well-meaning trailwork to boot!!!Thanks for the work you do CCC!!!!!!!!!

Hi pkirkham, It was me, Sally, who tried to reign things in by saying that "I would not jump to conclusion that the CCC built the fire," not Ellen. I don't think that anyone here has said that the CCC must have left the fire unattended. We are simply pointing out some of the things that we have observed that are not ethical or acceptable in the "Wilderness."

I think we have gotten off the topic of idiots who leave campfires unattended and not thoroughly extinguished. Maybe if we just want to vent about CCC practices we should start a new topic.

I appreciate the CCC crews & others, have hosted them in my backyard after working on PCT, and think of them as good people, & not bagging on them.What I am concerned about is what the State park & SBNF are allowing, and, who is managing this.I'm sure they are following most of the rules, but the impact is there, (and it's not confined to their camp areas, (which I realize, as you pointed out, they need certain resources). Personally, I don't use most of those trails, prefer other routes, (oh, I can hear the impact critics already). Most of these crews are barely adults & supervision is needed, as it is for us general public on the trails at times. Many may not have much experience in wilderness before this job.Just because the deed is a great service to the public & us forest users, doesn't make it ok to not keep impact & footprint to a minimum & abide by the rules, (which they mostly do).I appreciate the hard work, re-routes to allow thru travel, the wooden outhouses & all the other good deeds these crews do. Sally, thanks for your diligence on tending to this potentially devastating situation!ss

I was just in the Forest Service office in Idyllwild and inquired about the location of the "Azalea" fire. I was told it was near the junction of the Marion Mountain trail and Deer Springs trail. It's pretty well contained at 9-10 acres. I know it's been over a week since Sally, Ellen, and Marilyn came across the fire referenced in this post, and the campfire they found was near the junction of Deer Springs and Fuller Ridge, but I'm wondering if this isn't the same fire?